Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

From what you've said, my guess is that you're not eating enough and you're not eating often enough. I also think you're eliminating too many safe food options which makes it much harder to get enough to eat while following Heather's guidelines. If you'd like to pursue Heather's approach further, I'd be interested in knowing exactly what you ate, how much you ate, and when during the day you ate it while you were following her guidelines. People on the Board might be able to look at that and make suggestions that would help.

However, it sounds like you're already convinced that Heather's approach won't make any difference. In that case, my advice is:

- Make sure you don't have any of the conditions that can mimic IBS. I know you say you've had all kinds of tests done but you need to look at the list of conditions Heather says to rule out and make explicitly sure those conditions have been considered, tested for, and eliminated. As Stephie says, celiac is one - with an endoscopy your doctor should have examined your villi. Make sure he did and that they looked normal. As MelanieR says, Crohn's is another - make sure your doctors have explicitly considered that and ruled it out. And so on down the list of other conditions. (Actually you should do this even if you decide to continue following Heather's guidelines.)

- If you're not happy with your doctors, dig through this thread and see if there's a good GI doc near you. If not, you can try posting your location and see if anyone can make a recommendation in your area. It's best to do this in the Diet Board - it gets much more traffic than the Fitness Board. (Again you should do this even if you decide to continue following Heather's guidelines.)

- There are a couple of medications you can try. Talk to your doctor about an anti-depressant. Elavil, for example, can be helpful. I took it before I found this Website. I hated the side effects but it did shut down my diarrhea at least for a while. You can also ask about Lotronex. This is a big-time drug for IBS-D. It has some dangerous side effects but if you're desperate it may be the right choice for you. It can only be prescribed by GIs who are willing to abide by the FDA-established precautions.

I hope this helps.

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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]

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